We’ve been talking
about it for the past
few days, but Nokia and Microsoft made it official this morning – the two
companies will enter into a “strategic partnership” when it comes to
smartphones. There are a lot of things going on with this announcement, so
let’s get one thing out in the open right away – Nokia will not be abandoning
its Symbian and MeeGo efforts, at least in the short term.

That being said, Nokia
will adopt Windows Phone 7 as its “primary smartphone platform” from this
moment forward. Here's a list of things
that will happen under this new guidance that will build a new "global
mobile ecosystem" around Windows Phone 7:

Nokia will have the freedom to provide its own customizations on top of the existing Windows Phone 7 interface.

Microsoft’s Bing search engine will become integrated into Nokia devices and services. Although it's not directly stated, we’re assuming that this will include not only Nokia's Windows Phone 7 devices, but also those running Symbian and MeeGo. Microsoft's adCenter platform will also find its way to Nokia devices.

Nokia Ovi Maps will now be integrated with Microsoft's current mapping efforts.

Nokia will work with Microsoft to lend a hand in hardware design and language support to help "define the future of Windows Phone", and bring it to more price points and market segments.

Nokia application store will be integrated with the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Given that Stephen Elop, Nokia's current President and CEO, was
a high-ranking
Microsoft executive just a few months ago, we're wondering just how long
this move has been in the works. Although no one envisioned that Elop's new
position at Nokia would lead to such a drastic shift in smartphone strategy
that links him back to his former employer, both companies seem to think that
this new alliance will shake up the current smartphone race.

"Nokia is at a critical juncture, where significant
change is necessary and inevitable in our journey forward,” said Elop.
"Today, we are accelerating that change through a new path, aimed at
regaining our smartphone leadership, reinforcing our mobile device platform and
realizing our investments in the future.

“Today, developers, operators and consumers want compelling
mobile products, which include not only the device, but the software, services,
applications and customer support that make a great experience. Nokia and Microsoft
will combine our strengths to deliver an ecosystem with unrivaled global reach
and scale. It’s now a three-horse race.”

We can only assuming that by three-horse race that Elop is
talking about the new Nokia/Microsoft alliance along with the other two
juggernauts in the smartphone race -- Apple's iPhone/iOS and Google's Android
platform. RIM
and HP/Palm
need not apply in Elop’s eyes.

And we of course can't have such a big announcement coming
from the Microsoft camp without having a statement from Steve Ballmer.“I am excited about this partnership with
Nokia,” added Ballmer. “Ecosystems thrive when fueled by speed, innovation and
scale. The partnership announced today provides incredible scale, vast
expertise in hardware and software innovation and a proven ability to execute.”

This shakeup also means that there will be some changes to
Nokia's executive structure. While we won't detail all of the shuffling that's
going on (you can read about it here),
we'll mention this key change. Jo Harlow will lead Nokia's new Smart Devices
division starting April 1. Smart Devices will encompass Windows Phone, Symbian, and MeeGo devices. Nokia plans to keep Symbian as a franchise platform
and expects to add another 150 million Symbian devices to its current 200
million-device installed base.

As for MeeGo, it will become an open-source mobile OS
project that will "place increased emphasis on longer-term market
exploration of next-generation devices, platforms and user experiences."

Nokia plans to ship just one MeeGo device this year.

This is all a lot to swallow right now and it will surely be
a while before Nokia as a company is comfortable in its new shoes. Nokia's fans
have quite a bit to look forward too now that Microsoft is onboard, as the
company's current offerings are stagnating
in the marketplace.

We'll leave you with this closing statement from an open
letter that Elop and Ballmer posted to the Nokia
Conversations blog:

There
are other mobile ecosystems. We will disrupt them.

There
will be challenges. We will overcome them.

Success
requires speed. We will be swift.

Together,
we see the opportunity, and we have the will, the resources and the drive to
succeed.

"Death Is Very Likely The Single Best Invention Of Life" -- Steve Jobs